Pulses

Pulses are also known as legumes or lentils. Pulses are seeds from the legume plant family and lentils are a pulse. Legumes (beans) are among the oldest cultivated plants. In fact, fossil records demonstrate that prehistoric people domesticated and cultivated legumes for food. There are various types of pulses which differ in colour, shape, size and taste. Pulses are important food crops due to their high protein and essential amino acid content. like many leguminous crops, pulses play a key role in crop rotation due to their ability to fix nitrogen. Pulses are commonly known as Dal in India. The world’s largest producer and consumer for pulses is India. The major pulses that are grown and harvested are Pigeon peas (Arhar) and chickpeas Gram or Desi Chana. While Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat account for a major share in the production, small quantities are also cultivated in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Kamataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Bihar.